Queer as Punk review – joyous portrait of Malaysian LGBTQ+ rebels making noise

Yihwen Chen’s warm and galvanising documentary follows queer punk band Shh…Diam! as they battle discrimination with humour and raw energy For queer Malaysian punk band Shh … Diam!, every live gig is a small miracle. Their name translates as “Shut up!”, a powerful and defiant cry in a country rife with homophobia. Favouring distorted riffs, heavy drums and swaggering lyrics, the band’s powerful sound seeks to drown out the noise of prejudice and discrimination. Their courage, as well as their simple joie de vivre, thrum through Yihwen Chen’s documentary portrait. Shot over six years, the film charts the monumental changes undergone by the band members and their home nation. Always ready with a joke, lead singer and guitarist Faris is a proud trans man. Rejected by his own family, the charismatic performer finds a safe haven with his bandmates Yon and Yoyo, and their audience. Their songs turn up the volume on issues faced by the queer community, and also bristle with an anarchic sense o...

Sublime review – refreshingly understated queer coming-of-age tale

Avoiding schmaltzy pitfalls, this moving drama about two friends nearing adulthood offers a modern ideal of masculinity

Unlike many queer coming-of-age films – which can lapse into sentimental self-flagellation – Argentinian director Mariano Biasin’s light-touch drama handles the thorny process of coming out in refreshing fashion. Friends since childhood, Manu (Martín Miller) and Felipe (Teo Inama Chiabrando) are inseparable during their teenage years. When not playing together in a band, the pair hang out at the beach or simply lounge about in their rooms, talking about everything and nothing.

Though each has a girlfriend, their attitudes to dating are completely different. While Felipe has a van fitted out just for the purpose of hanky-panky, Manu’s first sexual experience leaves him with more questions than answers. Awakened to his desire for Felipe, Manu slips in and out of sexy daydreams as the struggle to hide his true feelings grows increasingly difficult.

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